In the Channel 5 and AMC+ original historical drama miniseries ‘Anne Boleyn,’ director Lynsey Miller brought the past back to life.
“Anne Boleyn” begins on AMC+ on Thursday, December 9.
The plot centres around the titular queen and is set in the stormy year of 1536. The queen strives to solidify power in the court of the mercurial King Henry VIII while striving to free herself from the patriarchal tyranny of the time.
At the same time, she works to ensure that her daughter, Elizabeth, inherits the kingdom.
The crossover series provides a current look back at the royal lives of the 16th century.
Jodie Turner-Smith of ‘Queen and Slim‘ renown plays Anne, with Mark Stanley of ‘Game of Thrones‘ fame playing Henry VIII.
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The series’ harsh and dreary tone draws viewers into the quest. The story’s grim representation also adds to the psychological fascination.
However, creating historical drama without a few unintentional anachronisms is difficult. Let us conduct an investigation to see how historically accurate the series is.
Is Anne Boleyn a Real Person?
‘Anne Boleyn’ is, in fact, based on a true story.
The limited series was directed by Lynsey Miller and based on a screenplay by Eve Hedderwick Turner.
The series takes close attention to historical details, thanks to executive producer Dan Jones, a historian, and journalist.
Anne Boleyn was one of the most mysterious figures in Tudor history. Henry VIII’s short-lived wife was a source of controversy during her lifetime.
To this day, the whispers haven’t stopped. Anne’s storey clearly holds a particular place in England’s culture and collective memory.
The life and times of the queen have been documented in a number of fictitious accounts.
‘The Tudors,’ a Showtime TV series, and the BBC drama ‘Wolf Hall‘ are two instances.
The queen, on the other hand, is frequently depicted as a morally ambiguous twentysomething lady in popular depictions.
She has the power to persuade the monarch to divorce his first wife and oppose the church, but she is doomed to die.
Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife, was unable to conceive a male child. As a result, Henry pursued alternative avenues for securing an heir to the throne.
After the marriage became strained, Henry VIII began a relationship with Mary Boleyn, Catherine’s lady in waiting.
When Henry didn’t get along with Mary, he fell smitten with Mary’s sister, Anne. He yearned for a male heir to the throne, but legitimising his son through his mistress Elizabeth Blount was not a viable option.
Anne, on the other hand, suffered the same fate of desertion and execution when she failed to produce a male heir. Elizabeth I became the first female ruler of the United Kingdom as a result of her activities.
However, Jodie Turner-Smith, a British actress of Jamaican origin, plays Anne Boleyn in the first season of the series.
This is the first time a Black actress has taken on the role of an English queen. Casting that is purposefully anachronistic and ethnically diverse, as seen in programmes like ‘Bridgerton,’ is a relatively new trend.
Despite the shock factor, unlike ‘Bridgerton,’ which is based on a fictional character, the series has a solid historical foundation.
The writer revealed in an interview that he intended to develop a period drama that wasn’t like the conventional movie depictions of Tudor court life.
Anne’s narrative has been included in numerous films and television shows. As a result, the author attempted to give it a new spin.
The queen’s story has often been characterised by a masculine gaze, as the writer correctly pointed out. Eve Hedderwick Turner wanted to change that.
She had been confined to the corner of history as a statistic, which she wanted to improve. The drama follows the protestant queen in her final months of life, and she takes centre stage.
Because of the series’ brilliance, she no longer has to be a shadow for the male figures of her day. The series immerses itself in Anne’s world, and she emerges as the protagonist.
Apart from Turner-Smith, Thalissa Teixeira, a British-Brazilian actress, plays Anne’s cousin Madge Shelton.
Paapa Essiedu, a British-Ghanaian actor, plays Anne’s brother, George Boleyn. Both characters are historical figures, but their casting choices represent a departure from the norm.
Taking everything into account, it’s fair to state that, while the show is historically accurate, it also seeks to fill in the gaps in popular historiography.
